AvailablityUsually ships within five business days.ArtistHarry Kikstra Platinum MemberCollectionLife

Description The border between Tibet & Nepal is called the Friendship Bridge, connecting the 2 sides of the roaring river. Nowadays Tibet is Chinese, a situation that will not be resolved soon.

The Chinese are different from the Nepali and you can tell this at the border. The Nepali side is chaotic and friendly, the moment you cross the bridge everything is still chaotic, but it is organised and regulated. Last year we were not allowed to take any pictures here but now the border guards seemed to relax a bit. Though it was very crowded when we passed on our way to Mt Everest and we could take images of ourselves, it was not allowed to take a picture of the guards or anything official.

Suddenly I saw this borderguard letting go of the usual power-stance, instead of staring straight ahead without any sign of life or feelings, he let his head down for a moment and turned away from observing us. I was surrounded by dozens of Sherpas and other climbers and tourists, but managed to shoot one single quick shot from the hip with my 135mm fixed that was still on the body.

Only that evening I saw it and it was immediately one of my favourites. In my view it shows that everybody is human, how terrible your job may be. Maybe he was just tired from watching silly western tourists entering this dry and high country, maybe he was thinking about the Tibetan population or about his children back in Beijing, who will tell.

Harry Kikstra, a climber/expedition leader/ photographer/ filmmaker/ producer/ writer/ public speaker/ cyclist and many other things that have to do with sharing the beauty of the outdoors. I have climbed the 7 continental highpoints and have travelled a lot and will not stop soon, though normally I am based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Contact me if you want other images or galleries from ExposedPlanet and I will add them.

I, Harry Kikstra, have started ExposedPlanet.comnot only as a way to show my portfolio, but also to share the beauty of our planet. Nowadays negative press & media might make people scared of everything foreign or different: culture, religion, people and the places themselves. This xenophobia is taking over our lives and prevents us from seeing the real world as it is: a wonderful place with beautiful people. There are no bad or evil countries, religions or people. There is bad and good people in every culture, including your own.

I hope I can share a bit of the amazement I have enjoyed while travelling the 7 continents. The more I see, the more I know I still have to see and I will. Life is too short to focus on not-existing enemies & fears.

The posters here all have small borders, with the name of the image and "ExposedPlanet" on them. If needed, they can be cut off or covered with a mat, if you just want to look at the subject only. If needed, I can upload a 'clean' version, just ask. Also please let me know if you are looking for a specific image or subject, as there are many more where these came from and I might be able to help you out, see also my website for a few hundred examples.

These images will also show more of the culture and other nature that is to be found on our 7 continents. I hope that it will sparkle your imagination, make you curious or even just educate you a bit, being maybe the 3 most important aspects of society in my view. A picture can say more than a 1000 wars and can maybe help understand the world around us. It's a small place, so maybe we can make the best of it together..